Random Musings

This week Carlos and I attended the celebration of Mexican Independence — it’s September 15th, y’all, not Cinco de Mayo … that’s a whole other celebration — at CAM, the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. The event was sponsored by the Mexican Consulate in Raleigh — Carlos has worked with them here in South Carolina so that’s how we came to be invited — and was hosted by the Consul General of Mexico in Raleigh, North Carolina, Javier Diaz de Leon, whom we both met.

It was a fun night … great mariachi music and great dancers, along with some fabulous food and killer margaritas … I do love me a good tequila drink, you know. But this is more a Carlos story so let’s go with that …

We’d never been to Raleigh, so I Google Mapped it, with directions to our hotel. As we entered downtown Raleigh, Carlos began reading the directions to the hotel and he said, Continue straight and turn left on West Ln.

I continued on, and on, and on, and right on out of the downtown area and never saw West Lane so we turned back and headed downtown again. I said to Carlos, Now, I’ll turn right on West Lane, right?

He agreed. We stopped at a traffic light and Carlos said, This is it!

I pushed him out of the car. We were looking for W. Lane Street, not West Lane. Oy. We really are Lucy and Ricky only this time he was Lucy!

Ken Ham, the head of the new Creation Museum, will lead a conference for a group that advocates for a new Christian America to be carved out of the southern states.

Yes, he wants the southern states to secede from the United States and form their own Christian nation where only Christians can become citizens.

I guess he forgot what happened the last time the South decided to pull away.

Asshat.

Comedian and actress and gay icon and all-around fabulousness that is Lily Tomlin will be one of 5 recipients of this year's Kennedy Center Honors, making her the very first out lesbian to receive the award.

 Lily, and fellow openly gay comedian Ellen DeGeneres, have both received another Kennedy Center award, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, but this is a first for the Kennedy Center Honors.

Way to go Lily. And well deserved.

Speaking of fabulously gay and well-deserved, Neil Patrick Harris and his longtime partner David Burtka were married earlier this month in Italy.

NPH Tweeted:

“Guess what? @DavidBurtka and I got married over the weekend. In Italy. Yup, we put the ‘n’ and ‘d’ in ‘husband’.

They have been together for over ten years and have two children together, making for a very happy family wedding.

Eighty Utah state legislators have filed an amicus brief in which they warn the Supreme Court that upholding the Tenth Circuit's ruling on same-sex marriage will lead to the legalization of polygamous and incestuous marriages. 

Siddown. That’s an argument no one truly believes any more.

Thomas Guerra, a 29-year-old man who is accused of knowingly exposing an ex-boyfriend and potentially dozens of other men to HIV has been ordered by a judge to no longer use Internet dating sites.

Um, like that’ll stop him.

A criminal complaint against Guerra lists one alleged victim, and city attorney's say the investigation is continuing and more victims may be added. Guerra has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail. However, his alleged victim is hopeful that additional text message records could prompt prosecutors to upgrade the case to a felony, punishable with up to eight years in prison.

I think that’s best.

Down there in Mississippi, Starkville mayor Parker Wiseman has announced that his city will begin offering domestic partner benefits for its LGBT city employees—a first for the state.

In Mississippi, y’all.

The measure was unanimously approved by the Starkville Board of Aldermen. Back in January, Starkville became the first city in Mississippi to officially recognize the dignity of its LGBT citizens.

The march goes on, in even the smallest of towns …

So, last year, a woman accused Cee Lo Green of drugging her with ecstasy and then raping her while she was barely conscious or completely unconscious; she remembers having a drink with him and then waking up naked in his bed.

First thing: ick.

But the DA did not believe there was enough evidence to bring sexual assault or rape charges against Green so those charges never happened. But last week Cee Lo pled “no contest” to the drug charge and agreed to perform 360 hours of community service and attend 52 AA meetings with a private therapist. He’s also on probation for three years.

And since he thinks he got off he decided to take to Twitter to talk about rape … uh huh … you know this won’t go well.  The tweets included these musings:

“Women who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!”

“If someone is passed out they’re not even WITH you consciously! so WITH implies consent.”

“When someone brakes on a home there is broken glass"

"Where is your plausible proof anyone was raped?”

The shiz hit the fan and splattered all over Cee Lo’s fat, drugging women’s face and he deleted all the Tweets, though not before several news outlets screen-grabbed them for posterity. And then he issued this response:

 “I sincerely apologize for my comments being taken so far out of context. I only intended on a healthy exchange to help heal those who love me from the pain I had already caused from this. Please forgive me as it was your support that got me thru this to begin with. I’d never condone the harm of any women. Thank you.”

Sit down, Cee Lo. You’re a rapist who got off on a technicality, that’s who you are, and instead of trying to help those “who love you” to heal, why not try helping the woman you forced your fat ass on to heal.

Then, go away, for good.

The Family Foundation, an anti-gay Christian group, has begun a planned 40-day ‘fast’ to oppose same-sex marriage in order to influence the US Supreme Court into rejecting same-sex marriage when it hears the first of a series of appeals cases in October.

However, they later quietly clarified that members don’t actually have to give up any food at all to take part in the ‘fast’ saying:

“We are asking the entire Body of Christ to join us for this feast – giving up physical food isn’t necessary – but feeding on the spiritual food provided is vital.”

So, the group that is opposed to what they call redefining marriage has decided to redefine what it means to fast?

Siddown. With Cee Lo.

Carlos and I started watching Outlander on Starz last weekend. I thought it was some kind of sci-fi time traveling thing, but it turned out to be some kind of love story time traveling thing.

But it’s beautiful to watch, and reminds me a great deal of something you’d see on Masterpiece Theater, or the BBC, but with nekkid people … though not the Cloud kinda nekkid.

And two men who’ve appeared shirtless, and pants-less even, are Tobias Menzies and Sam Heughan. With accents, too, and y’all know how much I loves me a man with an accent!

Why all the fuss over people reclining their seats on airlines? Three times in the last two weeks airlines have been diverted and forced to land because some got their knees knocked.

Seriously? I have a plan to stop this foolishness: charge those unruly dumbasses for the fees and fuel it costs to reroute an airplane to a different airport, and then allow every single other passenger on the plane to file a lawsuit to have their flight paid for by the asshats who don’t like to be crowded.

Maybe then this nonsense will stop.

Did Our Fight For Marriage Equality Result In Legalizing Polygamy?

Well, the wingnuts were right after all.

Remember when the fight for marriage equality began and all those folks — like Frothy Mix Santorum and Mike Huckleberry Hound — came out swinging that if we were to allow The Gays to get married it would open the floodgates for people to have multiple spouses — polygamy — and people to marry their children, their dogs or houses or books or lamps?

It’s happened.

Last Friday a federal judge overturned much of Utah’s law banning polygamy, proving Santorum was right that —

What? The overturning of the law has nothing to do with marriage equality? In fact, it really has nothing to do with marriage at all? Sister Wives say what?

Yes, Sister Wives; the Utah case involved a suit filed by Kody Brown and his “wives” — Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn — all featured on the TLC “documentary” Sister Wives. Brown’s argument was that Utah’s anti-polygamy laws infringed upon his Mormon religious practice — his religious freedom — and the privacy of him and his wives.

Well, District Court Judge Clark Waddoups — a George W. Bush appointee … so all y’all wingnuts can save your Thanks Obama for another time — agreed, though the decision still says it is illegal in Utah to be legally married to more than one person at the same time.

So, what exactly was overturned?

The polygamy laws in Utah go far beyond limiting an individual to only one marriage license, the statute also prohibits “cohabitation,” referring to any situation in which a married person “purports to marry another person or cohabits with another person.”

See, even though Kody Brown only is legally married to just one of his wives — he has had “spiritual” commitment ceremonies with the others — the  fact that he has a living arrangement that includes other individuals he refers to as wives — deemed “religious cohabitation” in the Mormon context of multiple marriages — was a violation of the law.

So, you see, Kody Brown is not going to be able to marry anyone else unless he divorces the one wife to whom he is legally wed.

And though conservatives may try to continue demonizing The Gays by claiming polygamy is part of the slippery slope of same-sex marriage, polygamy is actually the result of the very same “religious liberty” that people like Santorum and Huckabee claim marriage equality infringes upon.

The Gays and their fight for equality did not bring on the legalization of polygamy, or bigamy, or incest, or marrying an inanimate object … though Karen Santorum might be hard-pressed to prove she hasn’t done that.

Just sayin’.

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Mormons Declare Their Independence From The Church

A group of about 150 Mormons, from Utah, Arizona, Idaho and elsewhere, gathered together in a public park in Salt Lake City last weekend and signed a “Declaration of Independence from Mormonism.”
Yes, y'all, in what is seen as a rare act of collective revolt, these Mormons quit the  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after decades of disagreement for some over issues ranging from polygamy to gay marriage.
After signing their declaration, the men and women hiked up Ensign Peak--scaled in 1847 by Brigham Young to survey the spot where his Latter-day Saints would build a city--and, at the top, they gave three loud shouts of “Freedom,” cheered, clapped and hugged.
Among the reasons cited by those resigning are the church’s political activism against same-sex marriage, doctrinal teachings that conflict with scientific findings or are perceived as racist or sexist, as well as the Mormons’ explanation of the practice of polygamy; the church renounced plural marriage when Utah sought statehood.
Asked about the resignations, Michael Purdy, a church spokesman said the church--which calls itself the one “true” Christian faith--loves and respects each member: "People make their own decisions about the direction they will follow in life. While there are very few who take this action, it is sad to see someone choose to leave. We wish them well.”
Odd, though, that Purdy doesn't mention what happens to those who leave the church. Mormon culture often stigmatizes those who fall away, leaving some without social or business connections. See, to quit the church, Mormons must submit a formal letter asking that their names be removed from church rolls. It's a very public resignation, and one that comes with consequences.
Basically, they're banished. Which, really, isn't wishing people 'well' is it?
Robin Hansen, who signed the declaration, did so over what she calls a “culture of abuse” which she believes is cultivated by church teachings promoting obedience. Her husband did not, could not, join her in leaving the faith because he works in a church-related business and could lose his job if he doesn’t maintain his membership.
Zilpha Larsen, organizer of the event--resignmormon.blogspot.com--says, “It’s been a hard journey and this is a symbolic end. I just hope that it boosts people up and helps them feel more comfortable in their decision.” Larsen collected the letters of resignation from each participant and sent them off to the church.
Kris Fielding, a sixth-generation Mormon, traveled from Phoenix for the resignation and said he represented those Mormons who did not yet have the courage to do so, like his wife, who worries that she might be ostracized from her family if she anticipated.
Fielding left the church because of his local church leader’s response to his questions about polyandry and polygamy in the early church. “I went to him looking for a faithful perspective. He called my wife and told her she needed to find a new husband.”
He chose to find a new church, and says he is relieved by his decision.
Life is so fluid. People change as we grow and learn, and religion and politics should do the same. Social mores adapt and change as people change, and if these "churches" and political groups don't follow suit, they are soon seen as as old and antiquated, and of no use or value in these times.
If the church doesn't change--and I mean any and all churches--then their congregations will look elsewhere.

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Why Wyoming! Who Knew?

from the Casper Star Tribune:

In Wyoming, the House Joint Resolution 17, also known as the "Defense of Marriage" resolution--like because gay folks might like a wedding in their future, that a war has been declared on marriage--failed by a vote of 35-25.

Now this doesn't mean the folks in Wyoming are all hot'n'bothered for the gays to come up there and get married. There is a law already in place stipulating that only marriages between a man and woman are valid. But the law also says that Wyoming must recognize valid unions performed in other states, such as forward-thinking Massachusetts and progressively-inclined Connecticut.

Rep. Owen Petersen, a Republican Repugnant of course, says his office has been flooded with letters of support for his legislation. His co-sponsor, Rep. Edward Buchanan, another Republican, go figure, says, and this is rich, that since his "Defense of Marriage" resolution has failed, Wyoming may be forced to recognize other unacceptable unions.

According to this bonehead: '"If two people of the same sex can marry, why can't heterosexual couples have more than one spouse?"'

I love when they trot out that old chestnut, but he forgot the one about people being able to marry their dogs, 'cuz you know, first it's the gays, then the bigamists, then those folks inclined to a little bestiality in their lives.

But here's a kicker. Rep. Pat Childers, a Republican who voted down the measure.....what? a Republican? Huh? What? Huh?

Ah, okay now I see. Childers has a gay daughter, so he understands what it means to be gay, to know a gay person. Childers said his daughter, who lives with her partner in Montana, is a 'smart, productive member of society who deserves the same rights that her straight peers take for granted.'

'"Folks, till my dying breath there isn't anybody in this country who could say that she is a terrible person, or someone that needs to have their rights restricted," Childers said.'

Nicely said, Pat. I like you, you Republican!

But be careful; those nasty Repugnants will use your words against you come election time. You queer-friendly proponent of equal rights for all. How dare you, sir!

Wait though. It's not just Pat Childers. Rep. Sue Wallis, another Republican--is that all they have up there?-- called the resolution "state-sponsored bigotry," saying it is based religious prohibitions found in the Old Testament.

So, there are good Republicans and bad Repugnants? In Wyoming, of all places.

Wallis quoted Leviticus--which includes prohibitions on shaving, haircuts, tattoos, charging interest on loaned money and gathering firewood on Saturday.

Oh dear Jeebus, if all that's true, I am going to Hell. My only hope is that it's a Special Ring in Hell where they have Butt-Less Chaps night, serve Cosmos and the Cher Farewell Tour goes on FORever.

Rep. Patrick Goggles; a Democrat? In Wyoming? He opposes the resolution because he understands that as a representative of The People, he represents All the People--including gay people. '"I look upon this state as the Equality State and I urge you to maintain that status as the Equality State."'

The LGBT community called the defeat of the resolution an important victory. '"We are grateful that the Wyoming House of Representatives stood up for equality and refused to write discrimination into the state Constitution," said Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, a LGBT group based in Washington, D.C. '

Becky Vandeberghe, chairwoman of No Gay No Way, er, I mean, WyWatch--a group that supports legislation that promotes "sanctity of marriage," called Friday's vote a '"grave injustice."'

She went on to say, in that way that only narrow-mined folks can, that '"The elitist legislators decided not to accurately represent the people of Wyoming, and we certainly do hope that their constituents will take a look at their voting record and keep track of it for the election in 2010."'

Oh, they'll be watching Becky.

They'll be watching Pat Childers and Sue Wallis and Patrick Goggles, and realizing that equality is for everyone. They'll be watching those that stand up for all people.

Because it's the right thing to do.